Investigation of impact performance of 3-dimensional interlock polymer fabrics in double and multi-angle pass stabbing

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents the influence of fabric structures and stab angles on single-pass stab impact and the repeated and multi-angle stabbings of 3-dimensional (3D) warp interlock structural fabrics based on the high-molecular-weight polyethylene (HMWPE) yarns. Five kinds of samples with different structures were experimentally tested using the drop weight stabbing impact equipment at the same impact energy. Radar charts are plotted to demonstrate the differences among different parameters to a better understanding and a more global characterization of single-pass stabbing impact. An image analysis methodology of Structure From Motion (SFM) is used to compare the fabric deformation in Z direction after the stabbing tests. Results indicated that fabric structures have significant effects on the stab impact property that the orthogonal/through-the-thickness interlock fabric has a good stab impact resistance. Besides, the fabric with stab angle of 90° exhibited better single-pass stab impact property than the counterparts with stab angle of 0°. More importantly, the double-pass stabbing tests are compared to the ones of the single-pass stabbing which shows that a better condition occurs when the stab angles are identical in each pass.